TMNT - Turtlephobia: A Guide
by VAPX007
Summary: On how a perfectly normal set of turtle brothers were divided and why city dragons are totally a thing.
1. P1 Descent

_A/n: First story. See, I write it now. :)_

* * *

 **Turtlephobia: A Guide**

* * *

Part One

* * *

 **Descent**

* * *

Above the steeple roof of the high-rise building of the Foot, the stars glittered. The silence was keen as the rope dropped down into the chamber below the skylight. Leonardo scanned the area again with his senses. It was as he expected; sparsely guarded.

He knew where the leader of the Foot spent all her time, and it was not in this room. He slid down the rope and found himself in the unwatched silence staring at the empty throne. The silence was eerie, potent as though a ghostly spirit presided here. The ghost of the Shredder.

Leonardo's mind grew steady as he stared down the walkway to the throne, "I won't let you come back. Never, ever again." He gritted.

Leonardo stood there for some minutes, waiting, but nothing.

"Uh, hello?" He frowned, "I thought it'd be empty up here, but this is ridiculous." He sighed and calmed his mind. "Very well, I will come to you, Karai."

* * *

Leonardo headed down the silent corridors; the air was abuzz with vanishing ninja. Their orders were clear: Do not interfere.

That had to be something positive, Leonardo felt more hopeful about his quest. He used the shoku spikes to get down the elevator shaft. He came out on the technologies level.

Four Foot guards met his gaze.

"I'm here to see Karai." He said sternly, slowly getting to a stand. "I don't want to hurt anyone. I'm just here to talk."

They moved aside.

He stepped past them and headed to the nearest likely door.

Inside, it was just as he expected. Portal technology experimentation; in its actual incarnation, it was in a cylindrical housing unit. Before it, with shoulder length black shining hair and a warrior's armour was the one Leonardo had been seeking.

"We shall see how far your declaration of peace goes, Leonardo." The leader of the Foot declared and turned around to face him. She silently gave a hand signal and the guards left the room. Karai's gaze turned hot. "You take everything I care about away from me, Leonardo! It is your mission."  
"I'm not against you, Karai." Leonardo insisted.  
"No, you are against my father." She gritted, "And all my attempts to rescue him."

"Rescue, Karai? He's dead and what you're doing, these experiments are destroying the city!"  
Karai took a step back from him affronted, "This is a false accusation!"  
"I didn't say I thought you were doing it on purpose!" Leonardo scrambled, "But there've been portal sightings on the TV, monsters coming out of them, and it's happening right across Manhattan. If it's not a side effect of your experiments it still doesn't change the fact that it's happening." Leonardo took a breath to find his calm. "I need your help, Karai. Turn off this machine, turn on the TV; look through the window. See what's happening. In the real world, Karai. Out there."

Karai was stiff and turned away from him to gaze at the portal machine humming bright white before her. "On my honour I shall look out the window, Leonardo."  
Leonardo's heart tightened in his chest. That was all she would agree to and nothing more? "What do you want from me, Karai?" He asked her desperately.

"Perhaps you do not understand why I must do this. Without my father," Karai said slowly, looking to the portal machine, "I must think and act as leader for my people with clarity and incisiveness. To this purpose I lack nothing. I observe the teachings of my father..."  
"I know you have honour, Karai." Leonardo bowed slightly in deference.  
"His wisdom. I acknowledge his madness." Karai's head lowered.  
Leonardo's heart clenched. "I'm sorry for your loss, Karai."

"I was counsel to him." She turned to Leonardo, casting her eyes around to the people in the room. "I have experts, advisors, those skilled in specific matters. And yet I find myself lacking."  
"Well, I can give you some advice, Karai; dredging eSpace looking for Utrom particles maybe isn't the best way to deal. You should be healing instead of forcing the wound to stay open. It isn't helping you."  
"Who may tell me how I 'deal' with finding myself alone in a world such as this?" She challenged him.

Leonardo's heart clenched again. That was the most horrible thing he'd ever heard, and he was the one to blame.

"I'll stay with you, Karai."  
"What?" Her eyes widened in shock.  
"I may not regret my actions, but I'll own up to my casualties. If I can actually help you at all Karai, I am honour bound to do it."

Karai thought hard about his offer. She turned away from him slowly. There was a long moment. "Oh, father." She sighed with sadness in her voice, "I love you." She reached for the cables on the cylindrical portal generator and pulled the plug. The portal generator stopped. "Goodbye, father. You will not suffer the madness anymore."

From out of the relief and warmth of finally being able to help Karai out of her destructive phase, a nightmarish feeling cascaded over Leonardo's thoughts. Michelangelo was not going to get this, Donatello was not going to like it and Raphael wouldn't accept it for a single moment.

Leonardo suddenly felt incredibly bitter.


	2. P2 Wrecking Revenge

_Disclaimer: Turtles I do not own, mutant or otherwise._

* * *

 **Turtlephobia: A Guide**

* * *

 **Part Two**

* * *

 **Wrecking Revenge**

* * *

The castle walls, the perched on high Asian styled monastery, the waterfalls that flowed beneath it. This was the peaceful and silent world of the Battle Nexus.

Without body, the shadow assassins swept the world, hiding every scrap of light there was. Here and there a blue beam shot as though a supernatural lightning storm, lighting up the figures of soldiers and warriors, all caught, shielding their eyes from the piercing blue light.

The shadow passed on, leaving stone statues in its wake.

The Daimyo's son, Ue-Sama, turned from his view of the invasion of darkness from the window. He hid under the covers of his bed in terror. "Drako's assassin guards ... b-but it can't be; Drako is dead."

Soon the darkness reached into his bedroom and he shivered. In the pitch-blackness, he heard a dark gravelling voice call out to him. "Come on out, boy."  
Ue-Sama reluctantly left the security of his bed to face the assassin, "Lukrastus."  
"So you do remember. Do you also remember the quest to find this?" From beneath the dragon's cloak he drew a sceptre, its blue power crystal glowed light into the world.  
"The time sceptre!" The boy gulped.  
"Yes." The giant creature brandished the staff. "You will come with me."

Gyoji was a stone statue in the hall. Ue-Sama shivered in the dark as he stepped along the flagstone floor to the throne room. His father stood, frozen in place, empty-handed before the throne.  
"Father!" Ue-Sama's eyes filled with tears, "What have they done to you?"  
"It's no good talking to a statue, boy." Lukrastus twisted about, throwing his cloak over the top of the Daimyo's head to reveal his red scaly hide. "You really were so bad at paying attention."  
The boy looked about the room at all the statues. "You turned everyone in my father's kingdom to stone!"

"I persuade you to remember how Lord Simultaneous brought you back to life. You are standing there, while I have tried everything to raise Lord Drako."  
Ue-Sama stared blankly back at him. "You're confusing me. It doesn't give you what you don't want."  
"Fine," Lukrastus shrugged and pointed the time sceptre at him.

The blue light was blinding.

* * *

Lukrastus turned to the shadows around him. "We cannot raise the old master. Our Lord and Master, Drako is dead. I officially take his place." Lukrastus sat down on the throne. "Yutrass, Nutaki. We three are what remain of Lord Drako's close guard. We have failed, and we know who it is that must pay."

"The turtles," the assassins hissed together, two smaller red dragons materialised from the shadows.

Lukrastus looked at the time sceptre in his hand and pointed it at a space before him, to the right of the cloaked statue that was the Daimyo. "Four turtles," A window appeared showing the mutant turtles in training together.

"We will lose, Lukrastus, as our old master did." Yutrass complained, "We are three and they are four."  
"I have the time sceptre!" Lukrastus roared, "We have gained control of the war staff, what more must there be?" Lukrastus huffed. "Yutrass, you have much to learn."  
"Apologies, my master," Yutrass grovelled.  
"Shall it be my responsibility to think of everything?" Lukrastus growled at them both.

Nutaki offered, "The old master would want them to suffer … a long painful sufferance."  
"Yes," Yutrass agreed. "But they will kill us before we could manage it."  
"Not if they were distracted." Nutaki mused.

Lukrastus tried pulling apart the puzzle. "We use one staff to create a distraction; the other staff would be spare to exact revenge."  
"The turtles are trained warriors. They have competed in the Battle Nexus championships. Perhaps a distraction that they think they can fight." Nutaki suggested.  
"What then?" Yutrass fretted.

"Your nervousness irritates me, Yutrass. Be silent," Lukrastus snapped. "We have as long as we need to find the answers." Lukrastus picked up the war staff and brandished it high in the air. "They have want of a fight? They will not fight us. Let it rain tengu on the turtles and their friends." He then set the staff down on the stand, the red power shone high up and through the roof.

Lukrastus stepped off the dais and addressed his subordinates. "Now, we follow the turtles, find their weaknesses and ruin them. We will revenge our old master's honour."  
"I'll follow Leonardo," Nutaki offered quickly, "the turtle that refuses to die."  
"That leaves Donatello to you, Yutrass."  
"I?" Yutrass was stunned to the spot, "He has no weakness. Could I not follow Michelangelo?"  
Lukrastus frowned, "Michelangelo is inconsequential, a butterfly in the wind. Perhaps you would rather to follow Raphael?"  
"But one cannot be followed that has such a temper!" Yutrass cowed, "I will follow Donatello, my master."  
"Then I will destroy Raphael." Lukrastus glared at Yutrass. "You will see how it is done."

"Earth, third world," Lukrastus pointed his staff and set the portal for them to pass through.


	3. P3 Spinning Lights

**Turtlephobia: A Guide**

* * *

 **Part Three**

* * *

 **Spinning Lights**

* * *

The door burst open. "Turtle coming through!" Michelangelo whooped, his voice ringing enthusiastically through the air. The wheels of his skateboard skittered across the brick floor of the subterranean tunnel lair.

Raphael hit the boxing bag with another left hook, and then had to duck as Michelangelo jumped over him with the skateboard. In the split second that Raphael was watching Mike; the bag came back and belted him. Raphael groaned in a mixture of pain and brotherly suffering, "Mike-y. If you didn't notice, I'm in the middle of training here!" He said hotly.

"Ah, come on, bro." Mikey squealed the skateboard to a stop. "I know what'll cheer you up: a monster movie marathon!"  
"You know what'll cheer me up?" Raphael balled his fist and pressed it into the palm of his other hand, looking at his orange masked brother, "a Mikey beat down."  
"Look, fellahs!" Donatello's patient voice called across the way. He turned around on his stool to look up at them. "Why don't you go for a rooftop run?"

"A run; now that's a good idea." Raphael turned to Michelangelo expectantly.  
"Are you kidding, Raph?" Michelangelo objected with a pout, "it's monster movie marathon night," he held up a packet of microwave popcorn.  
Now where Mike had found such a rare food item, even post expiry date, Raphael had no idea. It was a guaranteed clinching point however and Raphael grunted in defeat, "Whatever, Mikey. I'll find Casey to go for a run with me. Not like he's gonna be dragging my chain, anyway."  
"Yeah," Donatello smiled back at him and twisted back around on the stool, "You do that, Raph."

"Ah ... layabouts," mildly disappointed with his two convalescent brothers, Raphael left the lair, hearing the TV turn on behind him.

* * *

In the alleyway below Casey and April's apartment, Raphael replaced the lid on the manhole and something screeched at him from behind the dumpster. Covered in yellow fur, it looked like a cross between a spider and a feral cat. "Whoa, you're _ugly!"_ He flipped out his Sais just as the yellow beast leapt up at him. In a few moments he'd skewered the thing and tossed it into the garbage skip in finality.

"Maybe April and Casey know something about this." Their window was high above. He scaled the fire escape and then tapped lightly on the glass.

"Ugh, tea towel, Casey Jones!" April's voice called out in annoyance as she went into the lounge to answer the window, "Hi, Raphael."  
Raphael slipped over the windowsill into the room with a chuckle, "you're on fighting form," he smiled at April.  
She smiled back at him, folding her arms with a challenging glint in her eyes, "who wants to know?"  
Remembering the answer to that question, Raphael spoke, "found a mutant feral spider cat hiding in your alleyway down there," he thumbed back. "D'you think it was anyone's pet?"  
"Huh," April frowned and turned away from him, reached for the remote control to the TV, "let's see."

"Hi, Raph," Casey called out as he entered the room.  
"I came up to see if you guys were interested in a training run." Raphael explained.  
"First things first," April, fiddling with the TV remote interrupted them; "this might be interesting, guys."

They watched the news broadcast.

There was a warning sign of earthquakes beside the TV reporter. "...reports of bright spinning lights in the sky and the streets. Several casualties have been reported attributed to these light shows. Reports are as yet unconfirmed of the exact cause of the injuries. Just to repeat today's headline warning bulletin, there have been a recent spate of miniature earthquakes across Manhattan. Seismologists are warning these could be the early warning signs of a large scale earthquake and residents are told to be prepared."

"Prepared for what?" Casey complained.  
"For something," Raphael took out his Sais as he thought about what the answer could be.  
"Shall we find out what?" April questioned gamely.  
"Right on." Casey enthused.

April and Casey went to fetch their gear.

* * *

Now with Casey's sports gear and April's katana the three climbed up out of the window to the roof. They crossed several rooftops before they caught sign of one of the bright circles of lights up ahead. They moved more slowly, crossing a few rooftops to get closer.

Suddenly the whole building was shaking beneath them. Raphael grabbed April's hand as she lost her footing and let out a surprised cry. They sat for a moment on the roof, catching their breath.

"That's not how a real earthquake feels," April told them, "it was ..."  
"Like an explosion without the bang." Raphael poked his head up over the wall to get another look at the spinning white circle they'd been heading towards. "It's gone!" He roused them in shock, "That lousy lightshow; it's over."  
"Like something blew up," Casey stood up, "leaving that thing!" He pointed.  
Raphael stood up to look and saw a titanic monster on the roof letting out a roar. "This whole mystery and it's just been portals all along."

Raphael frowned, "I hate portals."

"Me too, bro," Casey agreed, putting on his hockey mask. "Let's bid this butt-ugly a big New York City unwelcome."  
"Right on, Casey Jones," April fisted the handle of her katana.  
"Follow me, guys," Raphael inwardly grinned and they leapt across the final rooftop, keeping an eye on the beast as it started eating a billboard picture of the city skyline saying 'A nice place'.

Raphael swung himself across onto the rooftop and that was when he properly understood how ridiculously huge this thing was, "Whoa; if it ain't the hairball that ate Manhattan."

The titan roared at him and swung a great clawed hand out for him. Raphael jumped out of the way when another clawed swipe knocked Casey to the ground. The titan bellowed again as April moved in for a strike with her katana. April managed to dodge the knock back as Raphael and Casey rushed back on the beast.

The clawed hands snatched them out of their attack and lifted them up in the air.  
"Ugh, Raph!" Casey grunted, "Not doing so good here."  
"Y'telling me," Raphael grunted as he managed to get his arms free, "we can take this, Casey."  
"Let go of my friends, you big ... stupid ... hairball!" April bellowed in a battle cry down below.

The next instant Raphael and Casey tumbled down to the ground.

"Uh..." April's voice came uncertainly overhead making Raphael curious as he struggled up off his shell. "Th-anks, whoever you are..."

The blonde haired woman stood there with a long sword in her fist, the edge of it dripping in ooze. Her clothes gave her a scant leather look. "Little ninja fight big hairball." The woman stated in a bold feminine voice and a heavy foreign accent. "Brave little ninja," The woman wiped the edge of her sword against the matt of hair beside her and put it back into the scabbard on her back. She pointed at April, "little ninja stupid. Don't do again."

"Hey!" Raphael's sensibility took a blow and he got to a stand with a jolt. He advanced on the blonde with hot indignation, "you don't tell us what to do in our city!"  
The woman's eyes opened wide, staring at him in horror. Her expression turned angry. "Chen! You say ninja! You did not say turtle!" She shouted.

"Hey!" Casey joined Raphael's side, "That's ninja turtle to you, lady!" Casey explained defensively.  
Raphael was slightly annoyed, "Thanks, Case', I think I can handle this one." He gazed at the blonde woman, folding his arms. She was more upset at whoever Chen was than frightened of Raphael. "The name's Raph. This is Casey, and that's April. So who are you?"

The woman's steady eyes studied him. "Rin," she answered. Her eyes finally left him, instead looking hard at Casey and past Raphael to April. Her eyes returned to Raphael. "You are ninja. I am Viking."  
"Yeah, I don't think so." April gritted, "that's a Claymore on your back; wrong era … wrong part of the world for that matter."

"My sword!" Rin snapped angrily back. "I save you, you insult me!" There was the flash of something dangerous in Rin's eyes and Raphael jumped in between them. Suddenly he was airborne wrestling with her. They landed with a roll halfway across the roof. Rin gasped in wide-eyed surprise seeing him in her grip and all the fight went out of her.

Raphael pushed her off him. "Cool off," he ordered her gruffly, "she just said that ain't your average Viking's sword. Well, it ain't, right?"  
"No, it is _my_ sword," Rin answered again, "I make it, it is me. _I_ am _not clay_!"  
Raphael stared at Rin, trying to decide if she was a nut or if something significant just got lost in translation. "Hey, April," Raphael decided about the serious look on Rin's face and called out, "no more talking about Rin's sword, okay? We don't want to hurt our new friend's feelings."  
"Oh, alright, Raph."

Raphael stood up and offered a hand to Rin. Rin took it, staring back at Casey and April as she stood up.

"I'm sorry I said anything about your sword, Rin." April apologised in a friendly tone.  
"Alright?" Raphael was confused seeing Rin's guarded look as she stood close to his side, "you had a problem with me before; now you got a problem with April and Casey? They're okay ... for humans."  
Casey groaned in frustration, "Stop messing around, Raph! That light show's still happening out there, and if they're all portals letting things like this giant ugly hairball through then New York has one massive problem."  
"You' got a point." Raphael accepted and turned to Rin, "Know anything about the portals, Rin?"

"Raphael!" April exclaimed in frustration, "Rin can hardly put a sentence together! You can't honestly expect her to come up with that answer; she could have a PHD on the subject and it wouldn't even matter!"  
Rin nodded to April's words, "You got a point." She gestured them to follow and they started on a new journey across the rooftops.

* * *

Raphael didn't understand what the heck he was doing following a medieval tourist through modern Manhattan. They reached the final rooftop and started to climb down. He noticed Rin's caution when it came to skirting the lit windows as very familiar. They landed silently on the floor of the alleyway and the blonde woman crept to the end near the payphone.

"Which way?" He asked her softly at her side.  
"There," she nodded, "that cave there."  
Looking across the road, Raphael interpreted that to mean the private underground car park entrance. "Those places have security cameras." He warned her.  
"No. Cave is safe," she clasped his arm in a brief assurance, "we wait for way to come clear."

A car drove past them.

Rin hissed, "Too fast! Now we wait longer."  
Raphael could practically feel her frustration. "If all we gotta do is get across the road into that car park, maybe you could follow us. Ninja are pretty used to dealing with cars."

Rin grabbed his arm with a hiss to be quiet. On their side of the road Raphael listened as footsteps became louder. Some long moments later and someone in a coat passed on by. Raphael generally wouldn't have even heard a civilian at that distance let alone be bothered about them.

"So many too close," Rin let out an annoyed breath. She took a sharp breath in, "Hey!" She turned and looked at Casey and April. "You not need hide! Why you make me think you do?"  
"I-uh?" Casey stuttered in confusion. "Sorry?"  
"You're right, Rin." April said in a reasonable tone. "You go over with Raph, and then me and Casey will come over and join you."

Rin nodded and in a few more quiet minutes, they were across the road and in the car park.


	4. P4 Turtle Tech

**Turtlephobia: A Guide**

* * *

 **Part Four**

* * *

 **Turtle Tech**

* * *

The ventilation shaft was small, narrow and boxlike.

"Aw," Michelangelo whimpered, "Why couldn't we wait for Leo and Raph, Donny?"  
"Because," Donatello in front of him lectured in his soft voice, "this is just a reconnaissance mission."  
"Yeah," Michelangelo sighed, "with you, Don, it's always reconnaissance."

Donatello stopped in his tracks. He tried to look back at his brother but he was really not the age to start messing around with vents anymore and the metal support holding them up collapsed, sending him to the floor of the room they'd been passing.

On the floor, Donatello rubbed his head, "ouch! What do you mean by that, Mikey?"  
Mike did a flip out of the air vent and landed beside him on the floor. "Donny, repeat after me: 'air vents are not toys'."  
"Mikey!"  
"Donny?" Mike said as though lecturing a small child.  
Donatello sighed, relenting. "Air vents are not toys, Mikey."

The door opened and the lights flicked on. Agent Bishop stood there in his typical black undercover suit and tie with matching sunglasses. "Turtles," he acknowledged, "at least I know what to do with you."  
"Uh, kick our shell?" Michelangelo said in an innocent tone.  
"Mikey, don't give Bishop stupid hints like that!" Donatello told him off, "I don't know who it annoys more; him or me." Donatello stood up and looked at Bishop, "Uh, sorry about your air vent, Bishop. I can fix that." He glared at Mikey, "it just so happens that I've got the perfect turtle sized mallet for the job."

"Hmm," Bishop strode up to them, waving off his two security officers behind him. He pushed his sunglasses up his nose and considered them, "gentlemen. If you might enlighten me as to why you've made it your mission to tumble head over shell into my inner city top level security defence base?"

"Because of portals," Michelangelo answered ahead of Donatello, "you know what they are and they're all over the news and on the streets."  
"It doesn't take a genius to know this isn't a good situation." Donatello added, "So we were looking to see what you knew. Maybe we could come up with an answer together?"

"Aliens from another dimension are invading." Bishop turned from them and swept a way clear through the room to the corridor of red lights. "These appear to be their forerunning attack squad. Who knows what will be coming next."  
Michelangelo chuckled, following him, "dude, you were totally born in a science fiction horror movie."  
"Mikey!" Donatello roused him, "We are trying to have an adult conversation here?"  
"These portals are exceedingly dangerous," Bishop continued, pressing his hand against the door panel and opening the door for them. In this room, he showed them metal scrap piles sitting on work benches, obviously from various wrecked defence equipment.

"One of our tanks was overturned just in this last half hour. Doctor Stockman's analysis shows our infantry armour..." Bishop was livid for a flash instant, "well, you can see for yourself, Donatello." Bishop gestured to one of the tables.  
Donatello walked up to the table and reached forwards. When he touched the armour it crumbled to his touch. "What in the world ... mobilised metal munchers?"

"Ten minutes ago a portal appearing above the city took down one of our helicopters."  
"That's terrible." Donatello imagined the nasty crash landing, "Were they okay?"  
Bishop folded his arms, "Sufficiently. We are working on deciphering the size of the fallout zone so it may in fact prove not entirely a waste of resources. Perhaps, Donatello, you can help us upgrade our infantry armour that will withstand the chemical assault attacks that the aliens are using. We are so far doing little better than civilians with baseball bats."

"Hey," Mike challenged, "Don't knock the baseball bat, dude."

"Mikey," Donatello turned to his brother, remembering Mike was there and how much of a pain he was going to be if left to his own devices. "If I'm going to be working on this armour project, you're going to be super bored hanging around. Knowing Raph, he's probably up to his shell in the problem at the moment; he may have stumbled onto something that can help us."

"Oh, sure, Donny, but are you going to be alright with..." Mike gestured obviously to Bishop.

"We are at war with an alien enemy." Bishop declared. "If you help us, we will consider you allies."  
"Oh, come on, Bishop, we've helped you lots of times before." Mike complained, "and we're always defending New York whether you're around or not."  
"It's good enough for me, Mikey; we know those portals really aren't nice."  
"Okay, Donny, I'll check up on Raph." Michelangelo looked at Bishop, "You know our brother ... Raphael?"

Bishop pushed his sunglasses up his nose again. "Your attempt at a threat is futile, Michelangelo, also, in this situation, it's Donatello's brain I am interested in and I already have one intellect in a bottle, I hardly need two."  
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense, in a freaky scary psychopathic kind of way." Michelangelo turned to Don, "Have fun, Donny, I'll be back later."

As Mike left, Donatello looked back at Bishop, "Okay, show me where you're up to with your armour analysis. The transmogrification is obviously the result of some kind of caustic accelerant. I'd like to get a run down on the chemical composite."  
Bishop frowned, "Perhaps if you start with the end result and work back. Our field soldiers aren't exactly up to the challenge of collecting ooze."  
"Sure. I was just hoping to speed things up."

Bishop gestured to the lab. "I trust at least our equipment will be of use to you, Donatello."  
"... State of the art secret alien hybrid research tech?" Donatello supplied, "Are you kidding me? I should have the answer in a couple of hours." He turned away from Bishop and started reconfiguring the microscope.

"Agent Bishop!" Doctor Stockman's electronic voice modulated in annoyance, "Are you really-."  
"Yes, Doctor Stockman, and if you had found the solution-."  
"Good research requires time," Stockman retorted.

"Well, it does." Donatello agreed, watching the chemical's atomic structure present itself on the screen, "I spent years as a kid studying the chemical reactive force in mutagen and various household cleaning compounds."  
"Oh, really," Stockman jeered, "So what is it then?"  
Harried, Donatello took a breath and turned around. "Agent Bishop, I did say this would take a few hours ... but you remember how I sent Mikey away with something constructive to do?" He added suggestively.

"I understand." Bishop answered and turned to the brain in the hovering jar. "Doctor Stockman, would you please refrain from interrupting Donatello's research? I'd like the fallout zone results sooner rather than later. Our resources are draining very rapidly."  
"Or perhaps you'd like Donatello to do that as well. As your new-."  
"Now, Doctor Stockman!" Agent Bishop bellowed, then, regaining his composure, he left the room.

Donatello looked back to the brain floating in a jar.

"-Pet." Stockman's electronic voice finished and he took off across the room.  
Donatello felt slightly annoyed, "look, can we just get along, Doctor Stockman?"

Donatello didn't get a reply and he went back to focusing on the chemical reaction problem.

* * *

"...Which would lead to a toxic reaction..."

"Mobile metal munchers ..." he mused, walking to the trashed suit of armour trying to think practically now he'd seen the result in full. "Every time I look at this thing I think 'atomic binding'." Donatello gazed at the suit, "Which has the obvious weight problem … should've thought of that earlier." He went over the chemical sample fridges and started mixing up the elements of the compound into a beaker.

"What's that?" Doctor Stockman's voice came from across the room.  
"If you get the idea of what turtle wax does, Doctor Stockman, this is its big brother: turtle max." Donatello phrased simply.  
"Very funny," Doctor Stockman scoffed and hovered away.

"Um, I need something metal to test it on, though." Feeling a little vulnerable with Doctor Stockman the potential saboteur around, Donatello picked up his beaker and went for a wander further into the depths of the research lab.

Towards the back he saw several technicians building something. He could tell it was something cool. "Infantry armour?"

One of the technicians turned around, saw him and screamed.  
"Gah! Mary, get a hold of yourself!" Another technician exclaimed, "Sorry. What can I do for you, um?"  
"I'm Donatello." He tried clearing his ear slits of the ringing, "I need to test my anti-saliva solution," He showed him the beaker in his hand, "but since we don't have any of the chemical in its active form, that means a field test. Do you have anything metal I can take out for an acid wash?"

The techs looked at each other for a moment. "Well, it's just this one left. Mary, give the nice turtle your blowtorch."  
With a shaking hand, Mary reached out and handed him her blowtorch, "I'm going for coffee."  
Donatello gazed at her and the drawn look on her face, "You don't need coffee, Mary."

Another woman snorted in laughter, "Jedi mind tricks don't work on java the cup."

"Let's call it a night." Another technician said, "Since you need a prototype suit, Donatello, you can adjust this one to fit your specs. We'll start on the next one tomorrow."  
"That's very nice of you; thanks." Donatello smiled at them and the slightly twitchy technicians left him to it.

The last one came hesitating back, "I'm John, by the way."  
"Hi John," Donatello smiled.  
"Sorry about Mary. She's a little jumpy. She'd be scared of a butterfly if it landed on her nose."  
"That's what too much caffeine does," Donatello replied instantly, "It upsets the body's natural state of being. The body suffers a state of dependency on artificial methods to stimulate the correct alertness instead of addressing the cause, for example sleep depravation, insufficient water intake or nutritional imbalance. If you addressed those issues instead you would have gotten the same result but without the unpleasant side effects," Donatello answered, "I honestly don't know what you humans see in coffee."  
"You should try it sometime." John said and went away.

Donatello finished welding his new turtle armour prototype suit together and then grabbed the beaker, found the spray gun and a mask. Loaded up, he sprayed his turtle max formula onto the exposed surfaces.

Once it dried, it would be ready for a test run.


	5. P5 Chen's Sentences

**Turtlephobia: A Guide**

* * *

Part Five

* * *

 **Chen's Sentences**

* * *

It was more than a little dark in this car park. Raphael could barely see the next cement pylon, forget the back wall. "So much for the security cameras bein' a problem," he commented, feeling a lot more at ease. His eyes alighted on a van parked a bit to his side within the quiet darkness. It looked slightly abandoned for the night.

Casey and April joined them in the dark.  
"Hey Raph," Casey said mischievously, gesturing to the van, "Loading or unloading you reckon?"  
"Dunno." Raphael answered quietly so his voice wouldn't carry. "Love these things. They're like birthday presents."  
"Yeah," Casey agreed, "let's see if it's open."  
"You mind, Rin?" Raphael asked, thinking snooping around her place might do better with an ask.

"It is just a cart, Raphael." Rin replied briskly. "You can't frighten a cart with no horse."  
"Well, that's a pretty rational argument, Rin." April remarked in an approving tone.  
Raphael looked back at the blonde, "oh, well, if there's nobody 'round there's no reason not to get closer."  
They crept up to the side of the truck.

April joined Raphael and Casey at the back of the truck. "Our friend's pretty adaptable, whoever she is," she commented.  
Raphael shrugged back at her.  
"Look; it ain't even closed properly," Casey pointed out that the back door was ajar.  
"It could still be dangerous," Raphael insisted, "keep an eye out."  
April moved back near Casey in caution.

Raphael hooked his fingers around the edge of the back door and swung the door further open. Empty darkness met his eyes. "Okay," he accepted as he swung both doors completely out, "so it's empty; should 'a figured."

Hearing the sound of wood under foot, Raphael ducked his head out of the truck.  
April picked up what looked like a piece of a packing crate. "I'd say 'unloading' was the answer you were looking for, Casey."  
Casey swung his torchlight around the ground near his and April's feet. "Hey, April, check this out."  
"What?"  
Not being able to see anything interesting because the door was in the way, Raphael stepped off the back of the truck to get a better look at what they were looking at. Casey's torch was aimed at a blank rectangle about ankle high and about as long and wide as a park bench.  
"It's a slab of stone," Raphael observed, "Ain't exactly interesting."

Casey scoffed like he knew something that Raphael didn't. "What about these, then, Raph?" He said, raising the torchlight to shine further out. Three crates jumped out of the darkness. "Interesting enough for you now?"  
"Whoa!" Raphael joined April and Casey in looking at the crates. "Someone walk off the job or something?"  
Casey stepped closer to them so he could read the labels: "France ... Japan ... Mexico." He read out. "Why'd they leave 'em out for? They ain't too worried about 'em getting nicked."  
"Yeah ..." Raphael stated, "Like this one." He pointed to the vacant plinth.  
"Casey, can I borrow that?" April took Casey's torch and knelt down to examine the empty slab.

"Stop messing around!" Rin said in a frustrated tone; "Light show with big ugly hairballs! New York has massive problem. Remember?"  
Raphael shrugged, "Come on, April, Rin's got a point."  
"Uh, yeah," April agreed in a peculiar voice as she got back up to a stand. "I just wanted to check out the inscription."

Raphael followed after a steamed Rin, knowing April was right behind him. "Find anything, April?"  
"I don't know; I haven't exactly memorised all the letters of the runic alphabet. But it's from the same place Rin says she's from."  
"How about that, eh?" Raphael watched Rin advance to the lift and pried the stubbornly shut doors open with her fingers as he considered what April had just explained. Once Rin got her grasp the doors slid apart pretty easily to reveal the lift was fortunately on their floor. "Pretty spry for a statue," he remarked.  
Casey chuckled, "She's even kinda cute when she's not glaring at y-ow!" He complained as Raphael heard a small thunk behind him.

"Ugh, you Neanderthal," April grunted in disapproval and steamed on past to join Rin in the lift.  
" 'You coming, Casey?" Raphael stepped in after the two steaming women and turned around, "Or do you wanna be around when the other statues wake up?" He held the door.  
Casey rubbed the back of his head and stepped in. "Yeah, I'm coming." Casey answered in a tiny pouting voice and tried to stand in the lift as far away from Rin and April as possible.

Rin pressed buttons on the lift panel doubtfully like she'd never pressed them before.  
"You know what you're doing, Rin?" Raphael asked her.  
"Yes." She answered with a lark in her voice. "We climb in well bucket. Big splash at bottom."  
April chuckled nervously. "Not the most reassuring analogy I've heard. How'd you know which buttons to press, Rin?"  
Rin shrugged, "Chen give me picture of what to do."

The doors opened and Raphael pressed himself to the side of the lift to avoid detection. From what he could see of the room and corridor beyond, they were in a plain basic high-rise building.  
"We didn't splash," Rin noted with a hint of disappointment. "Come on, Chen can put a sentence together for you." She gestured for Raphael to leave the lift with her, but he could tell by the sound of keyboard tapping that the room beyond the lift had someone in it. He made eye-contact with April and Casey.

The typing stopped. "Fred, Chen said 'do not interfere with the ninja' so you interfere, then you bring them home... is there no sense in your head at all?" The woman's words brought an annoyed look to Rin's face.  
"Um, hello," April ventured, stepping out of the lift before Casey. "I think we're here to see a Mister Chen?"  
"All 'four' of you," the woman's voice came tersely, "I'd call security if you weren't already here." With that she started typing again.

Raphael felt a flush of humiliation; so much for ninja stealth; ordinary citizens could hear him over the sound of their keystrokes! Grudgingly he stepped out after Rin, keeping behind her so the receptionist would at least not see him very well.  
"That's Georgina," Rin introduced, looking back to Raphael. The woman in question continued typing into her computer. "Georgina guards the door," Rin finished her introduction.  
"That seems just about right for Georgina's personality," Raphael agreed, "You said your name was Rin, not Fred."  
"It's Orinieau," Rin stated hotly, "It is drakonisk and it is what name my mother gave me! Gina ..." Rin paused, letting her temper cool, "Gina was just making a loud noise. That's her job."  
"Geez, I'd like to get paid for my attitude problem," Casey stated.  
Raphael frowned over at Georgina typing away as April chuckled at Casey's joke, "looks like a pretty boring job, actually." He turned his attention back to what Rin had just said. "Uh, Oh-rin-ee-you?" He tried to pronounce her name.  
"Orinieau." Rin restated.  
"Orinieu?"  
Rin nodded in 'close enough' acceptance and moved on to the corridor.

Noticing the sound of keystrokes had stopped, Raphael paused from following Casey. He turned his head to catch Gina staring at him and he sighed, "You got a problem with your English as well?" Raphael folded his arms, waiting for her to come up with the words she wanted.

"Mutant turtle."  
"I know, I live here too, you know," Gina scoffed lightly, "It's just that there's rules and policies and the first thing Orinieau does on getting to New York is break them all. I hope you're as brave as they say ninja are because thanks to Orinieau you're going to have to go 'upstairs'." She finished in an ominous tone, pointing upwards.  
Raphael got the impression it was the last place anyone wanted to go. "Right, thanks for the warning." He turned to rejoin Casey, April and Rin heading through a door just up the hall to the right.

* * *

It was a small meeting room. A large rectangular table took up the centre and a bunch of chairs surrounded it. Raphael sized up the tall thin Asian man leaning beside the large TV up on the back wall. "Figure you must be Chen."  
"In as much as a name does, Mr. Raphael Splinterson." Chen bowed slightly in greeting.

"As a ninja I hope you can appreciate our act of avoidance as a strategy. Please know I have no desire to stand in your way." He sat down in a chair beneath the TV, inviting everyone else to do the same. "These portals are the most alarming things." Chen jumped straight in, not waiting for everyone to decide whether to sit down or not. It was almost like he knew how much patience Raphael didn't have. "A ninja could handle a controlled situation but this is ultimately chaotic. The apparent chaos unravels New York's defences completely." He sank back in his chair. "A disaster; one might say it were a natural disaster but for the hell spawn we've encountered."  
"Loki." Rin stated quietly.  
"It is more like Loki without cultural place or social definition." Chen corrected.  
Raphael blinked, "Yeah, somehow I don't think she was talking about the fairytale version, Chen."

"I have faith the solution will come in time." Chen stated, "The fearful part of my vision is why Hamil Corp have collected you and brought you here, Orinieau." His eyes roved on to the others, settling on Raphael. "You may think what you see in our security department is outdated and worse, impractical, Splinterson." Chen declared, "And you are right. City dragons only concern ourselves with reinforcing the strengths of the police force." He turned his head to look at Rin, "City dragons, Orinieau, do not interfere with the affairs of ninja."  
"Why?" Rin asked in annoyance.  
"Because in one aspect we cloud the clarity of their minds and it is their minds they need to solve the city's problem. In our other aspect, they are human, and we are not. You have rescued these three but you've also stolen them from their place in the fight."

Raphael sat back and folded his arms. "Alright, Chen, so yeah, I was a little steamed that Rin busted up our fight," he partially agreed, "but exactly what kind of clarity do you think you're messing with here?"  
"I look human to your senses, do I not?" Chen answered, "There is only five of us in the room; is there not?" He paused and Raphael looked around at the five of them sitting there, slightly irked. There was a weird feeling; it had started even back in the car park.

"The ninja is not blissfully ignorant of these details. You will return home and find yourself lying awake in your bed for many long hours, your mind trying to unmask the things you haven't fully perceived. The car park, the truck, even your brief fight with Orinieau; you will start counting shadows in your sleep," Chen finished.  
"Yeah?" Raphael mused, "Some kind of illusion?"  
"The illusion is, as they say 'quite real'."  
"I get you." Casey commented, "Freaky things leave a trail of evidence, like an opened crate and an empty stone slab where a statue ought 'a be."  
Chen sat back holding out his hands palm up to say his point was proven. "There is only one way we can fix this."  
"Watch yourself, buddy," Raphael gritted warningly at Chen.  
"I must take you to see our CEO. He will help clear this matter."

Raphael felt the gravity attached to Chen's resolution, "Let me guess: he's upstairs in the last place on earth anyone wants to be."  
"Yes." Chen stood up. "Don't be concerned, we must endure it only briefly."

* * *

Chen led them out to the lift beyond the receptionist. He turned as Raphael filed in behind Casey, "Orinieau, you can stay."  
"No, I want to come and see this fearful thing." The expression on her face was of hot indignation.  
"Curiosity killed that cat." Raphael warned her.  
Rin charged in and slotted herself into the lift with them. "I am not a cat, Raphael."  
Raphael thought back to that moment he realised Rin was going to jump April. "Whatever y'are you got a real quick temper. Y'make me look like I'm just on a slow simmer."  
Rin frowned back at him. "If someone tells you your shell is unmade pottery?"  
Raphael chuckled, "I'd tell them to come back to me with a better insult."  
"Why?"  
"Coz it ain't-."  
"Oh, no," April sighed, "Don't teach her trash talk, please, Raphael."  
The doors slid open before Raphael could find an answer to April's rebuke.


End file.
